Drug Trafficking, Selling and Cultivation

Drug Trafficking, Selling and Cultivation

Drug importation offences tend to dominate the serious drug practice of the CDPP, trafficking offences are also prevalent. A person traffics in a controlled drug if they:

sell it

prepare it with the intention of selling it, or believing another person intends to sell it

transport it with the intention of selling it, or believing another person intends to sell it

guard or conceal it with the intention of selling it, or assisting another person to sell any of it

possess it with the intention of selling it.

While drug importation offences dominate our serious drug prosecutions, we also prosecute trafficking offences, and from time to time we prosecute trafficking offences under the relevant state legislation, depending on the case.

Pre-trafficking

Pre-trafficking includes selling, manufacturing, or possessing a precursor and must be accompanied by specified fault elements relating to manufacture and sale.

The Criminal Code contains offences for pre-trafficking controlled precursors, however these offences have rarely been prosecuted.

Commercial cultivation

Cultivation includes:

planting

transplanting

nurturing, growing or tending

guarding or concealing

harvesting, picking or gathering resin from a plant.

A person cultivates a controlled plant if they engage in cultivation, exercise control or direction over the cultivation of the plant/s or provide finance for cultivation.

Cultivation will be regarded as being commercial if it is done with the intention of selling the plant or its products or believing that another person intends to do so.

The Code criminalises the commercial cultivation and sale of controlled plants; we don’t prosecute many of these offences.